


saline

by bluemoss



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst, F/F, Fluff, M/M, Pirates, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:35:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25663735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemoss/pseuds/bluemoss
Summary: let me be clear. this is gay pirates.
Relationships: Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Reiner Braun/Bertolt Hoover
Comments: 9
Kudos: 20





	1. Introduction

  


* * *

Introduction

* * *

  


Reiner slowly dug his nail into a dark rusted bar of his damp cell, adding to a decently sized pile of the crusted shavings which had slowly collected onto the floor. He’d gotten much farther into the metal than he’d anticipated, with the ancient rod now missing a decently large chunk at its very base. There were many reasons that this was far from exciting to him, the main one being that he was far too large to squeeze through any potential gap that removing this bar would make. It’d become more of a hobby than anything.

He wouldn’t need to worry so much about his fellow cell mates at this hour, usually finding them passed out and spewing their hot air everywhere, but this wasn’t the case tonight. Festivities upstairs had continued long after their usual end. All of the prisoners were wide awake, remaining as quiet and alert as they possibly could. This was their attempt to hear the faintest note of a musical instrument upstairs. There was something humanizing about seeing this, watching them yearn for a simple pleasure of life now stripped away from them. They were still monsters regardless, and that would never change in his mind.

He’d done everything in his power to avoid interaction with them. They were the most uncivilized people he’d met to date, and reeked like nothing else. Not that he had much room to talk, now three days straight without any opportunity to tend to his own personal hygiene. 

Even a hot shower for all of them and a pedicure for kicks couldn’t change the foul environment that was the below deck prison cells. The air was dense, to the point where grabbing it with your own two hands felt in the realm of possibility. Every breath Reiner took left him unsettled, with the visualization of the toxic air leaving a black hue on his lungs. The men that joined him were clearly no stranger to this, with hacking coughs loud enough to make his eardrums ache. Reiner had spent his time down here in relatively the same position, curled up and occasionally stretching his legs out forward. He spent so much time in the same position that movement of any limbs felt stressed and almost enjoyable, like waking up from a deep sleep. There was a morbid satisfaction in it all, the highlight of his life now being an occasional leg stretch as he sat quietly in a damp box.

He was absolutely terrified of the men which joined him, so much to the point where his own inflated ego couldn’t even prevent him from admitting this to himself. They were quite sinister looking, with several of them featuring large exposed wounds now yellowed with infection. One of them had a gashed open eye. The man must have been quite sentimental with it, as the mangled grey sack remained dangling from his eye socket. He’d foolishly attempted to speak with these men when he’d first been thrown in the cell, immediately being berated with threats of dismemberment and cannibalization of his body. They spoke amongst themselves, occasionally throwing a derogatory statement towards Reiner who was now permanently curled into himself at the front corner of the cell. They’d occasionally get up and relieve themselves over towards the side of the room. Reiner had urinated on himself several times, paralyzed in position like a child who’d just woken up from a nightmare and was now faced with pitch black darkness. His nights were sleepless, plagued with the thought that the men had grown unsettled enough to finally give in to their desires of tearing his flesh from his bones.

His position in the box was favorable, closest to the door separating the prisoners from the outside world. When a crew member would come down to tend to some supplies he’d catch the faintest breeze of cool ocean air and sunlight on the back of his neck. A very short luxury. Suddenly, this breeze came upon him right there and then.

A small figure burst through the shabby door leading above deck, seemingly dragging a person behind her. She came into view, a short blonde woman who looked dead behind the eyes. Her words weren’t terribly loud, but had an unmistakable power behind them.

She turned towards the cell, still clutching the flailing boy by his neck. Her eyebrow raised a tad and she sighed. 

“I brought you here to tell me which one… but it’s clear enough.” She tossed the boy into a nearby wall, shaking her head as she watched the young male gasp for air. “You, me, and the captain will be discussing this later on, now go take over Kirstein's shift for the rest of the night.”

After the boy scrambled back upstairs she turned towards the cell and cracked the lock open. She motioned towards Reiner, giving him a painfully pitiful stare. “Come on, get out before I change my mind.” 

Though completely unaware of her intentions when letting him out of this cell, he felt as though he might cry from happiness. The three remaining prisoners shouted a few obscene insults before the wooden door slammed, and suddenly Reiner was free from the mustiness of the dark room he’d spent almost 4 days in. He breathed in the crisp air as if his life depended on it. 

With the first sign of any emotional capacity within her, the short woman faced him with a snarky half smile and a short breathy laugh. “God you reek.” She motioned towards a small room near the side of the ship. “Go wait there, I’ll get somebody else to go deal with you. I don’t feel like holding my breath today.”

He felt ashamed of his condition. 

Reiner carefully slid towards the small room as instructed, still not fully reacquainted with his ability to walk. It was a small, warm room that smelled pleasant. There were a few bags of grain, a sealed barrel, some tangled up chains, and a lantern still full of oil and ready to serve its purpose. He smiled and let his head lean backwards, still appreciating how the clean air caressed him as he moved. He wanted to cry really bad, but decided that’s not how he’d like to be found by whoever was coming to see him.

He sat himself on top of the large dense barrel, eyeing a few pieces of discarded wood in the corner to his left. He snapped a sharp stake-like chunk out of a particularly frayed piece and tucked it under his thigh. All he could do was prepare for whoever was about to come through that door.

Reiner cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck till it produced a satisfying pop, turning over the various outcomes of his current situation. He could only hope being removed from the cell meant that his time had been served and he was not about to be killed for resources. A few distant voices approached the room and stopped outside the door. One belonged to the woman who’d freed him just a short while ago, the words too muffled to be fully understood. He could tell that the topic of their conversation was likely himself. The second voice was much more deep and sultry, only presenting itself a few times in the whole conversation. 

Snapping himself back into reality, Reiner realized that the door had creaked open and a dark figure stood in the door. The dim sea behind them was the only thing revealing the dark outline of what appeared to be a large man. He reached into one of his several pockets and removed a match, striking it on the wall and illuminating the lantern suspended from the ceiling. He then turned back towards Reiner and squatted down so that they were at eye level, putting his face into full view and removing his hat. 

“I’m Bertolt.” 

Reiner moved his face to eye level, expecting a hand shake which never came. He observed Bertolt as he gave a small and obviously forced smile, which still presented as genuine in its own way. “Reiner.” He said, trying to return a similar face. He felt like his own came off as far less charming.

“Well Reiner, I imagine you have a lot of questions for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> future chapters will be SIGNIFICANTLY longer than whatever this little introduction was. i just felt like i should start with a little taste of the situation at hand.


	2. Chapter 2

  


* * *

Chapter 2 

* * *

  
Reiner knew this face quite well. 

The man had been down into the brig several times, usually responsible for replenishing the prisoners food supply and taking them out on a couple few and far between bathroom trips. He’d rarely ever spoken during these times, never actually making eye contact with the rotting captives. Reiner’s hand gripped tightly onto the splintered wood beneath his thigh. He spotted a small but manageable space of exposed neck flesh, which with enough speed he could strike at from his left. He had no self-confidence in regards to overpowering what looked to be an experienced pirate, meaning that his next move needed to be precise.

Bertolt waved a hand elegantly in front of Reiner’s squinted eyes. “Are you alright? I can get you some water if you’d like. If it wasn’t already clear, you’re not a prisoner anymore.”

Reiner felt less tense, but his grip did not loosen on his concealed weapon. 

_’People like this know how to lie well.’_

“I have no reason to harm you. Please, just drink this.” Bertolt had already removed a small metal canteen from his left hip and extended it out to Reiner. He cautiously accepted it, taking a small experimental sip of the water. It didn’t taste tampered with, only a tad metallic. 

A small silence hung in the air until Reiner turned his face to the person in front of him. “Why did they let me out?” 

Bertolts face dropped to an almost ashamed frown, now unable to keep eye contact. “Well… we weren’t exactly aware of why you were down there to begin with. We trust our crew members' judgement in deciding who should and shouldn’t be a prisoner on this ship, and they do it quite often when we encounter conflicts on our travels. Your imprisonment came up in passing conversation, and we discovered that... there wasn’t much reason for it.” Bertolt was once again able to lock eyes as they spoke. “It was a severe lapse in judgement from one of our newer crew members, and I assure you that their behavior will have consequences.” 

Another long silence followed.

“I’d like to personally apologize. I should have asked sooner when I saw you down there. You’re an easy standout from our typical prisoners.” 

Another painfully long pause.

“I assume you don’t frequent these sorts of places…?”

“No. I can’t say I frequent disease infested jail cells.” Reiner shrugged, sliding his hand out from under his leg. 

Bertolt sighed and sat himself down onto the floor. “Well... again, I’m sorry you had to be down there. Hopping onto our ship is far from a crime, as long as you’re able to pull your weight. Most of our crew members joined on a whim too, trying to leave behind a life they were dissatisfied with. You have the same exact opportunity if you’d still like it, but I understand if you’d want to walk away.”

Reiner couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow up. “You’d take me? as a crew member?”

“I don’t see why not. You’re more than physically capable, I can tell just by looking at you. You also held your own in a cell alongside some of the nastiest scumbags this world has to offer, which is something I can’t say for anybody else on this ship.”

He slowly ran a hand through his short blonde hair, recalling his time paralyzed with fear in the cell as he soiled himself. “Well uh… I’m flattered I guess. I need some time to think about it.” 

“Of course. It’s a big commitment. You can drop whatever rumours you’ve heard about what we do. It’s not anarchy on here, and everyone has responsibilities. You’ll be free from the restrictions of society, as long as you do your part to keep us going.” 

Reiner couldn’t help but grin at the prospect. A freedom like that is all he’d ever dreamt about. 

“Ah what the fuck, I’m in.” He slowly stood, sliding his weapon into the waistband of his pants. “Just don’t lock me up with those nutjobs ever again.” 

“Shouldn’t be a problem ...but that’s mostly up to you.” Bertolt grinned and cracked open the door, filling the room with a comforting swirl of cool salty air. “I’ll even let you keep that little shank you were hiding under your leg, but you can find plenty of people around here to sell you a proper dagger.”

“Ah... yeah. Thanks.” He couldn’t help a slight tinge of embarrassment from appearing on his cheeks. They strolled together towards a more populated area of the enormous ship, now dimly lit by a few lanterns suspended from thick ropes that draped over the deck. Reiner found his eyes now firmly fixed onto the person he was walking with, who looked quite different now that he was in clear view. 

His outfit was quite practical, but had an unmistakable opulence to it. A few tastefully placed jewels on his coat and hat, which danced in the dim lighting as they walked. It had also become fully apparent that this man was a great deal taller than Reiners initial impression, towering decently higher than himself. This was a rare experience. Bertolts eyes were the perfect match for his profession, a muted shade of green that flickered beautifully when light fell upon them. His presence conveyed an undeniable sense of regality, much more than he’d expected from any pirate.

Reiner was once again snapped out of his daze by a hand waving in front of his eyes.

“We’re docked for the night, and I’m sure you really need some time.. to uh…” Bertolt gritted his teeth ever so slightly.

“I’m aware that I smell like a rotting corpse. Just show me where I can go to clean myself up.”

“Well, we don’t have anything too advanced as far as hygiene. It’s a pretty warm night, so you can just hop in the ocean and... do your best.” 

Reiner was dangerously close to laughing at him before he realized he was being quite serious. 

Bertolt wandered off towards a small storage room and returned with a familiar dark green bag. “Here, we took this when we first found you. Everything should still be in there.” 

He untied the knot which held it closed, comforted by the fact that it seemed untampered with. A small bundle of clothes, his money pouch, and a few rations of food remained scattered throughout the bag. “This looks like everything.” He looked back up with his best attempt at a charming grin. “Thanks for not stealing anything I guess.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start thinking about it... You look like an everyday rich kid, I’d bet there’s a decent amount of money in there.”

Reiner let out a huff and playfully smacked the bag into Bertolt. “Hey, I’m definitely not a fuckin rich kid, even if I do look so perfectly maintained.”

“It’s kinda hard to agree with you since you’re covered in dirt, but I’m sure you look great.”

“Fuck you.” He once again knocked the bag into Bertolt before walking away. He was more than ready to wash off the four days of filth which had collected on his body.

Reiner walked along the edge of the boat, now coming to a ramp leading to the small beach they were docked at. There were scattered fire pits around the beach, surrounded by drunk crew members happy to be on somewhat solid ground. The ones that weren’t asleep seemed to be having the time of their lives, passing around bottles and laughing like they’d heard their very first joke.

The sea water was almost warm to the touch. There wasn’t much to be done as far as thorough cleaning, so he submerged himself into the sea for as long as he could. He left his clothes on, hoping they’d improve somewhat after a decent soak. Being in the water had always been a relaxing thing for him. The feeling of water caressing every inch of his body was an opportunity for him to really reflect. He spent nearly an hour rubbing down his body in hopes that the worst four days of his life could wash away from him completely.  
  


* * *

  
Reiner had spent a great deal of time listening to people having fun above deck while he was locked up in the brig. All night long there was a hypnotising chorus of instruments being played, just barely audible to those below. The muffled sound of a party was something he’d come to appreciate during his time down there. A minor comfort, one which allowed him to relax and sleep for even just a couple minutes. 

What he’d heard from below deck for several nights was now directly in front of him. 

As suspected, drunk crew members flooded the main deck. They gathered around a few tables made out of crates. Using various barrels and random materials, they’d constructed an array of seats which circled around crowded poker games. 

They’d broken down the main wall of a storage room nearby and installed a countertop. An intimidating looking woman with a crimson shirt stood behind this counter, occasionally handing out cocktails of second rate booze she’d plucked from the shelves behind her. She was gorgeous, but any approachability was struck down by an aloof look which never once left her face. She did her job with little attention and effort, keeping her focus on a small blonde girl who paced around the party delivering various food and drinks to those too drunk to walk.

Reiner was now painfully aware of how much he didn’t fit in with this sort of crowd. He was certain that Bertolt was nowhere to be found around here, seeing as he was far too tall to be hidden by any drunken crowd. He quietly shifted over to the bar, eventually meeting the dreaded gaze of the woman.

She turned ever so slightly to meet him, still keeping the object of her attention in her peripheral vision. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here. You don’t really look the part of a pirate, do you?”

“I’m Reiner. I just joined the crew. A few hours ago actually.” He casually leaned onto the counter, attempting to hide the storm of anxiety he felt thrashing around inside of his chest.

“I’ll give it a week before you jump ship.” 

Before he had the chance to be offended, she once again turned towards her stash of opaque bottles and sloshed a few liquids into a metal cup. “Here. You only have to pay for the more expensive ones.” 

“I didn’t order any-”

“I know that dumby.” She snapped. “You look terrified. Like you’re gonna pass out. Drink that and loosen up a little bit.” She gestured over towards the drunk masses. “You have nothing to worry about. They’re all idiots. Anyone with even an ounce of intelligence is below deck asleep or off somewhere hooking up”

She leaned in closely to his face, so close that he could feel the heat radiating off of her tanned cheek. Using her index finger, she pushed his chin so that his face was now overlooking the crowd, and a sly grin erupted onto her face.

“These are the ones I despise the most, aside from the girl walking around giving all these men her undeserved attention. They’re here to get drunk and be asshats, usually only sticking around for a few months tops. The captain does his best to filter out the more problematic ones, but plenty of scum slips through the cracks. Rapists, bigots, and even a few that don’t bathe.”

She turned his face back into her direction. “You aren’t scum, are you Robert?” 

“It’s Reiner.”

“Answer the question.” 

He sighed, sliding his cup towards himself and staring into the cloudy brown liquid that filled it. “I mean… I hope not. It’s not really up for me to decide.” 

“True…” She swiftly produced a drink for an older man, now barely able to stay upright as he hobbled back to his table. “I guess your scumminess has yet to be determined. My recommendation is that you don’t fall into a pattern of behaving like these nitwits, not if you want anything meaningful out of your time here. Find the intelligent among the pack! I’d say you're off to a great start by coming to see me.” She smiled and tilted her head to the side, now returning her focus to the blonde girl weaving in between large men as she approached the bar. 

“Ah Krista, let me introduce you to this scumbag I just met!”

The small girl, as if completely unphased by this statement, hopped up onto the countertop and beamed a bright smile.

“How can you say he’s a scumbag, you’ve just met him.” She turned her focus towards him. “I’m Krista. Don’t worry about Ymir over here, she likes to insult everyone who isn’t me.”

“Reiner.”

“Ooh, German name isn’t it? Very regal and... sturdy.” She tossed her hair behind her shoulder and flipped herself over the counter to stand next to Ymir. “I assume you’re new around here. I don’t tend to forget a face.”

“Yeah, I just officially joined, but I’ve actually been here for a while technically. I was locked in the brig below deck for about four days.” 

Ymir let out an enormous cackle before Krista swatted her on the forehead and cut her off. 

“So you were the one they had down there... I heard about that. That must’ve been awful... If it makes you feel any better Eren received a lot of pushback for that.”

“Eren? Eren who?”

“He’s the one who put you in there to begin with. Can’t imagine why he thought it was necessary... Though he is a bit dramatic...” 

Ymir slid back between them, now recovered from the swat. “He’s also a dipshit with a fuse as short as his dick.”

“That’s not fair Ymir...” Krista turned her focus back towards Reiner. “He’s a good guy. I’m sure you two can get past this. For what it’s worth he’s spending the next week with three times his normal workload. Annie made sure of that. She’s the pretty blonde girl, with the sorta… stoic face. Real short like me?”

Reiner recalled a woman of a similar description who freed him from his cell. “Yeah. I think I’ve seen her around. I’ll make sure to thank her.”

“Just make sure to be careful with your words.” Ymir wrapped her arms around Krista from behind, placing her face just next to hers. “If you slip up she might flip you on your ass.”

Reiner raised an eyebrow. “...her? The little angry looking one?”

Krista nodded. “I know she looks pretty average, but I’ve never seen someone fight like she can. She’s a true professional, and actually very sweet when you crack through that exterior of hers. We drink tea together every few days. She’s the only one around here with enough class to enjoy that sort of thing.” 

Reiner was tempted to offer himself up as a future drinking partner, but held back seeing how protectively draped Ymir was over her companion.

Another preconception of his was once again shattered. Krista and Ymir, who were very much pirates, seemed to be possibly two of the most complex and wonderful people he’d ever met. Very far from any description he’d heard of a pirate in his hometown. He could specifically recall his mother's constant warnings to stay clear of the filthy murderous thieves which lurked just beyond the fog of the sea. He hadn’t told her where he was going before he left home. He didn’t care to imagine how swiftly she’d disown him for associating with these people.  
  


* * *

  
With the world slightly distorted and an artificially induced confidence running through his veins, the alcohol had taken full effect.

Reiner was now confidently reclined at a table, other crew members tightly cramming next to him for a good view of the game. He’d mustered up the strength to approach one of these gambling tables and join in, and found himself having quite the stroke of luck in a basic dice rolling game. It was fairly straight forward. 

Two players would roll a set of dice attempting to get as close to the number 10 as they could. Going over 10 would eliminate the player for that round, unless the other player also rolled above ten, which leads to a rematch. There was no strategy to be had for this game. 

Despite that, Reiner had already collected a decent amount of money from this table alone. 

His next opponent was a man about the same age as him. They’d been trading off small amounts of money for the past 20 minutes, never actually speaking a word. Reiner occasionally peeked forward, attempting to spot any sign of weakness on the man's face. He was only met with a hyper focused stare and a sinister grin. The crowd of people which had slowly built around them filled the silence, screaming in various tones of excitement whenever a tradeoff was made. 

A particularly excited woman with brown hair was next to Reiner and yelled, spraying a mist of saliva over the left side of his face. He slowly slid his palm against his cheek and wiped the remnant onto his pant leg. He gave an agitated glare to her, now with both of her hands clasped over her face in humiliation. He nudged her arm to gain her attention and gave her a look of reassurance. She was far too drunk and far too happy to have done anything out of malice. 

Reiner looked over his earnings before grouping them together. “Why don’t we finish this up already, ay?” 

He then shoved all of them into the center of the table. The surrounding crowd erupted, a few of them even running to grab the attention of anyone nearby.

The man shrugged, moving his tongue around the inside of his cheek in a condescending manner. “Fine with me! It’s your funeral.” 

Combining his earnings towards the center of the table, the surrounding crowd of about 30 people became nearly silent. 

Reiner was first to roll, taking extra time and dramatically moving his hands around before tossing them onto the table. 

He’d only rolled a 5, but remained unphased.

A few surrounding viewers chuckled, giving reassuring looks in the direction of his opponent.

The man had also taken it upon himself to be dramatic with his roll, shaking it behind his head and at every possible angle.

A smaller bald man broke the silence. “Come on Jean… easy win!” 

He then gave a final blow onto the dice and threw them in a spinning motion, sending them flipping across the table. Everyone surrounding leaned in as they came to a final stop. 

It was a 3.

The crowd leaned into Reiner and cheered, giving him various shoves of approval. Jean, who was far less amused, rose to his feet. A few other crew members joined him in this, giving an equally unsatisfied look into Reiner’s direction. 

The cheers of approval were halted by the sound of a knife sliding out of its sheath. “I don’t know how the fuck you did it… but you rigged that shit! Nobody’s that lucky...” Jean belted.

Reiner, far too drunk to know better, let out a breathy laugh. “Oh? And what’s your theory on that one? Did I move the dice with my mind?” A few chuckles were earned from the crowd. 

“Bullshit! You won almost every time!” Jean kicked his chair behind him and moved around the table. Reiner, now slightly snapped out of his inebriated state, rose to his feet. He slowly backed away from Jean, sliding the jagged piece of wood out from the waistband of his pants.

Both were too intoxicated to keep a solid footing, but circled around each other as a wall of viewers formed.

Reiner was far more physically imposing by nature, but also painfully aware that his improvised weapon stood no chance against the metal dagger which Jean firmly gripped in his hands.

A few uncoordinated slashes were traded between them until Reiner was able to grip Jeans forearm as he attempted a low jab. Jean then kneed at Reiner’s side, causing him to lose his grip. A deep slice was made into the flesh just above Reiner’s collar bone. He could feel the hot waterfall of blood dripping over his breast.

He peaked down at it only for a second, choosing to ignore the repulsive amount of blood which now stained almost the entirety of his shirt. Jean used this moment to attempt another unsuspected attack.

Reiner now felt a fiercer anger than when the fight had just begun, something deeply primal.

Letting out a loud animalistic huff, Reiner once again grabbed onto Jean's forearm and yanked him closer, delivering a punch to the direct center of his face. There was a very audible _*crack*_ that came from this, leading Jean to lose his footing. Reiner then twisted his opponent's arm behind his back until a small crunching noise erupted from the joint. No cry came from Jean, only a frustrated screech as he struggled to escape the grasp like a trapped animal. His movements were unsettling, with blood profusely gushing from his nose as he thrashed.

The knife had skidded across the floor, and Jean was completely overpowered.

A noticeable gap had formed in the crowd which surrounded this fight, and two figures now descended onto the scene. They were not yet into Reiner’s clear vision, which was now clouded by sweat. One was very tall, and the other quite the opposite. He wiped his eyes and saw Bertolt standing over the two of them, accompanied by the woman he presumed to be Annie.

Jean shuffled out of the hold and frantically thrashed across the deck floor. He then turned towards the two and gripped his nose, attempting to stop the crimson flood which was pouring from his nostrils.

“Captain Hoover!” Jean scrambled to his feet. 

_’Captain?’_

“This fucker needs to pay! Look at what he did!” He then gestured over to Reiner, now kneeled onto the floor as he grasped the still gushing wound.

Bertolt then gave a short questioning glance over to Annie before moving his attention over to Reiner. There was a noticeable pity on Bertolt's face as he watched the sheets of blood pour across Reiner’s hand.

There was a short silence, only filled by the consistent feral panting from Jean's swollen face.

Bertolt once again moved his focus back to Annie. “Go patch up his injury… I’ll deal with this one later.” Bertolt then gave a side glance of irritation over to Jean, who now had an expression that transcended disbelief. 

Jean picked up his knife and returned it to its holster. “You can’t be seriou-”

“That’s enough.” Annie snapped. “I suggest you go lay down for a while… clearly you can’t handle your liquor.” 

She then moved towards the center of the circle and assisted Reiner to his feet, pressing a thick rag over his still dripping wound. Reiner caught yet another glimpse of the bloody massacre which adorned his chest, and began to feel nausea creeping into his throat. 

With his stance now a little weak, Annie was forced to bare more of his weight, now leaning into him. She let out a huff and slung his arm around her neck, still successfully walking him across the deck. 

“I should have left you in that god damn brig...”  
  


* * *

  
Reiner awoke to the vague smell of herbs. He was in a room that was a tad more extravagant than the normal surroundings of the ship.

He felt the cool pressure of a wet rag moving around a bandage which was now somehow adhered to his body. The person tending to his wound was Annie, looking stoic as ever. He attempted to slouch up and ask her what was happening.

“Do not move.” She grasped his shoulder and slowly moved him back to a laid position. “I don’t need you ripping this gash back open. You should be able to walk around with it fine by tomorrow morning, just take it easy… real easy.”

“Is it that bad?” Reiner pressed his hand over his eye socket, feeling a slight twinge of pain near his chest.

“It could be a lot worse. Only a flesh wound. A pretty deep one but… still a flesh wound. It’ll scar beautifully. That could get you some credit around here. Maybe skip the part where you got it during a drunk brawl.”

She tossed the blood stained rag to the side and rinsed off her hands in a nearby bucket of warm water. “I used one of my good bandages on you, so don’t try and fuck with it. I also used some healing cream I picked up from a friend in Barbados, it should keep you pretty numb for a while.” She helped him lean up ever so lightly and propped a few cushions behind his lower back. 

He gave her a nod accompanied with a grin that she did not return. 

“I appreciate it. I didn’t expect you to be the nursing type.” He laughed and continued to carefully adjust his body.

She tilted her head and gave an unamused glare. “Oh? I bet you expected someone like Krista to come in here and rub you down until you felt better.” She huffed and continued to scrub her hands of the caked dried blood. 

“I didn’t mean anything by it.” 

“I know.” She sighed, sounding unencumbered. “I’m not unaware of how I come off. But the truth is, medical training and practice takes a lot of focus and grit. Plenty of the more warm and cuddly people on this ship couldn’t stomach seeing a child birth if their life depended on it. Krista nearly fainted when she saw your blood earlier.” 

“So… I imagine you were in the medical field before you came here.” 

She sighed with uncertainty. “I mean… yeah. Only in training. Never officially? But sure, call it whatever you want.” She scraped a layer of dried blood from under her nail. “I learned enough to patch up whatever useless altercations you boys find your way into.”

The reason that they were together in this room suddenly came to the forefront of his mind, and a silence filled the room. 

“What’s gonna happen to me?” Reiner kept his gaze focused on the ceiling. 

“Well… you’ll probably bleed for a few days and then you’ll be ba-”

“I mean with the fight.”

She raised an eyebrow and huffed. “What needs to be _done_ about it...? You were both revoltingly drunk, and from every personal account that i heard besides Jean’s… you didn’t start the fight, ...unless you did in fact move the dice with your mind.”

“Well… you never know.” He grinned, receiving only an eye roll in return.

The door creaked open from behind Reiner’s vision. He heard footsteps and a familiar deep but soft voice. “How’s he doing?” He heard a few articles of clothing being removed and dropped near the door.

“Ask him yourself. He’s up.” Annie rose to her feet, throwing on her usual jacket and hat. “I’ll leave you two to discuss. Should I leave a sock on the door?” 

Bertolt did not face her as she left the room, only directing an eye roll in no particular direction. She chuckled very softly and exited the room.

Bertolt opened a drawer near the corner of the room, lighting a small stick on fire which emitted a scented smoke which spread throughout the room. It was a very earthy scent, but also very delicate. 

Bertolt assumed the position that Annie was in originally, crouched just next to the small bed which was fixed to the wall. He smiled reassuringly. 

“I let you out for one day and you’re already drunk, gambling, and picking fights. You might be a real pirate after all…” He gently pulled back a towel to observe the injury. “Though… I heard you didn’t really _pick_ the fight, did you? Unless the rumors of your telepathy are true…” 

Reiner huffed out a laugh, trying to keep his chest from moving too much. “I’ll never tell… unless it’s an order... _Captain_...”

Bertolt shut his eyes for a few moments and sighed. “You know I was really enjoying the couple of hours where you didn’t know that. Just call me Bertolt… or Bert… or.. whatever.” 

Reiner truly never suspected Bertolt of being in a position of power around the ship, let alone the Captain of the whole operation. He clearly wasn’t very boisterous about it. The little things could have tipped him off, like the jewels on the outfit, or the hat. But he was humble, and extremely welcoming. Reiner never suspected a thing, which was now supposedly the whole idea. It was the last thing he’d expected from the leader of the “murderous thieves which lurked just beyond the fog.” 

“Well.. you definitely had me fooled. Capt-”

Bertolt turned his head to the side, glaring overdramatically.

“...Bert.”

“Better.” Bertolt stood up and walked to the entrance of the room. He grabbed a small but heavy looking burlap sack and dropped it to the floor next to the bed, producing a loud _*clang*_ noise from within. 

“There’s all the money you won before the fight.” 

“I mean... I don’t know if I won. He slashed my chest open before we could call it quits.” 

Bertolt shrugged, once again returning to sit next to the bed. “From what I saw, you won the game  
the fight. By quite a lot on both accounts. I’m impressed.”

Reiner blinked, trying to recall the full events. “He definitely put up a fight. But I probably ended off worse than him.”

“I don’t know… I _heard_ that punch when it hit him in the face... from a good 20 feet away. There’s also the fact that you were about to tear his arm off when we found you.”

“Hey I’m not a monster okay. I would have simply... dislocated it.”

Bertolt laughed gently. “Well. I know Jean very well. He probably deserved it, especially after a few drinks. He’s a speedy fighter, but he leaves himself exposed.” Bertolt looked away from Reiner for a second, seemingly collecting his thoughts. “I know this isn’t probably what you wanna hear right now… but I’m sure you two can move past this. He’s a good person.”

Reiner chose not to react. The sting of a freshly gashed wound on his chest stopped him from even considering something like that.

This was the first time Bertolt had been in front of him without his Captain outfit on. He was in a plain dark blue shirt, and the same type of pants that most people around the ship wore in their leisure. He still looked regal in his own way. The way he carried himself conveyed that sort of thing more than any outfit could. One of those people who just have an ethereal presence by default. 

Reiner also found himself transfixed by the way Bertolt spoke. It all sounded very precise and intelligent, but also without effort. He had come to realize that this voice which he enjoyed was now completely silent.

“Ah.. sorry.” Reiner shook his head ever so slightly. “I spaced out a little there…”

“You must be tired. It’s been a rough couple of days.”

“Yeah. I didn’t sleep much down in the brig. Only passed out from exhaustion a few times.”

Bertolts face once again dropped to an almost ashamed state. 

“Just… let me sleep until I wake up by myself and I’ll be cool.”

“No problem.” Bertolt stretched his arms and back in an uncomfortable looking position until a loud crack erupted from his lower back. “I could pretty much tell you weren’t sleeping. You were too busy trying to cut through that jail bar all night.” 

Reiner felt embarrassment wash over him. “Oh… you knew about that?”

“Of course I did. I’m shocked nobody’s tried it before. “You’d also… stare at me when I walked down there.. so I figured you were hiding something.” 

Reiner bobbed his head slightly as his eyes became more narrow. “Damn... you’re good...”

Bertolt gently patted him on the shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You’re clearly resourceful. I like people who have a plan. I can be a bit indecisive so… it’s nice to have people like you around… and also Annie.”

“Yeah… she’s really… something.” Reiner let his eyes fall shut.

“You have no idea.” Bertolt rose to his feet and snuffed out the nearby incense, followed by the various lanterns strung up on the ceiling. “I think you should get some rest.”

Reiner let out a series of unintelligible groans and pulled a nearby blanket over his body. 

Bertolt quietly tucked Reiner’s money under the bed and exited the room dressed in his usual Captain’s attire, shutting the door as slow as he could manage.

_’See you tomorrow… Captain.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter should be out in a few days. this took me significantly longer than i thought it would. i spent way too much time sitting in front of a blank page just... thinking. also HELLO yumikuri fans rejoice because i love writing about them and plan to feature them heavily in this.


End file.
